ENCOURAGEMENT FOR RECENT CONVERTS
The Pauline Epistles fall naturally into four groups: (1) the epistles of the second missionary journey (First and Second Thessalonians); (2) the epistles of the third missionary journey (Galatians, First and Second Corinthians and Romans); (3) the epistles of the first imprisonment (Colossians and Philemon, Ephesians and Philippians); (4) the epistles written after the period covered by The Acts (First Timothy, Titus and Second Timothy).
Each of these groups has its own characteristics. The first group is characterized by simplicity of subject matter, and by a special interest in the second coming of Christ. The second group is concerned especially with the doctrines of sin and grace. The third group displays a special interest in the person of Christ and in the Church. The fourth group deals with organization, and with the maintenance of sound instruction.
1. SIMPLICITY OF THE THESSALONIAN EPISTLES
The reason for the peculiarities of First and Second Thessalonians has often been sought in the early date of these epistles. On the second missionary journey, it is said, Paul had not yet developed the great doctrines which appear at later periods of his life. This explanation may perhaps contain an element of truth. Undoubtedly there was some progress in Paul's thinking. Not everything was revealed to him at once. The chief cause, however, for the simplicity of the Thessalonian epistles is not the early date but the peculiar occasion of these epistles. Paul is here imparting his first written instruction to an infant church. Naturally he must feed these recent converts with milk. The simplicity of the letters is due not to immaturity in Paul but to immaturity in the Thessalonian church. After all, at the time when the Thessalonian epistles were written, the major part of Paul's Christian life—including the decisive conflict with the Judaizers at Antioch and Jerusalem—lay already in the past.
At any rate the simplicity of the Thessalonian epistles must not be exaggerated. In these letters the great Pauline doctrines, though not discussed at length, are everywhere presupposed. There is the same lofty conception of Christ as in the other epistles, the same emphasis upon his resurrection, the same doctrine of salvation through his death. I Thess. 1:10; 5:9,10.
2. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
Undoubtedly the second advent, with the events which are immediately to precede it, occupies a central position in the Thessalonian epistles. A few words of explanation, therefore, may here be in order.
Evidently the expectation of Christ's coming was a fundamental part of Paul's belief, and had a fundamental place in his preaching. "Ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven"—these words show clearly how the hope of Christ's appearing was instilled in the converts from the very beginning. I Thess. 1:9,10. To serve the living God and to wait for his Son—that is the sum and substance of the Christian life. All through the epistles the thought of the Parousia—the "presence" or "coming"—of Christ appears as a master motive. I Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:13 to 5:11,23,24; II Thess. 1:5 to 2:12.
This emphasis upon the second coming of Christ is explained if Paul expected Christ to come in the near future. The imminence of the Parousia for Paul appears to be indicated by I Thess. 4:15: "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep." This verse is often thought to indicate that Paul confidently expected before his death to witness the coming of the Lord. Apparently he classes himself with those who "are left unto the coming of the Lord" as over against those who will suffer death. In the later epistles, it is further said, Paul held a very different view. From Second Corinthians on, he faced ever more definitely the thought of death. II Cor. 5:1,8; Phil. 1:20-26. A comparison of I Cor. 15:51 with II Cor. 5:1,8 is thought to indicate that the deadly peril which Paul incurred between the writing of the two Corinthian epistles, II Cor. 1:8,9, had weakened his expectation of living until Christ should come. After he had once despaired of life, he could hardly expect with such perfect confidence to escape the experience of death. The possibility of death was too strong to be left completely out of sight.
Plausible as such a view is, it can be held only with certain reservations.
In the first place, we must not exaggerate the nearness of the Parousia according to Paul, even in the earliest period; for in II Thess. 2:1-12 the Thessalonians are reminded of certain events that must occur before Christ would come. The expression of the former epistle, I Thess. 5:2, that the day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night, was to be taken as a warning to unbelievers to repent while there was yet time, not as a ground for neglecting ordinary provision for the future. In Second Thessalonians Paul finds it necessary to calm the overstrained expectations of the Thessalonian Christians.
Furthermore, it is not only in the earlier epistles that expressions occur which seem to suggest that the Parousia is near. Rom. 13:11; Phil. 4:5. And then it is evident from II Cor. 11:23-29 and from I Cor. 15:30-32 that Paul had undergone dangers before the one mentioned in II Cor. 1:8,9, so that there is no reason to suppose that that one event caused any sudden change in his expectations.
Lastly, in I Cor. 6:14 Paul says that "God both raised the Lord, and will raise up us through his power." If that refers to the literal resurrection, then here Paul classes himself among those who are to die; for if he lived to the Parousia, then there would be no need for him to be raised up.
It is therefore very doubtful whether we can put any very definite change in the apostle's expectations as to his living or dying between First Corinthians and Second Corinthians. A gradual development in his feeling about the matter there no doubt was. During the early part of his life his mind dwelt less upon the prospect of death than it did after perils of all kinds had made that prospect more and more imminent. But at no time did the apostle regard the privilege of living until the Parousia as a certainty to be put at all in the same category with the Christian hope itself. Especially the passage in First Thessalonians can be rightly interpreted only in the light of the historical occasion for it. Until certain members of the church had died, the Thessalonian Christians had never faced the possibility of dying before the second coming of Christ. Hence they were troubled. Would the brethren who had fallen asleep miss the benefits of Christ's kingdom? Paul writes to reassure them. He does not contradict their hope of living till the coming of Christ, for God had not revealed to him that that hope would not be realized. But he tells them that, supposing that hope to be justified, even then they will have no advantage over their dead brethren. He classes himself with those who were still alive and might therefore live till Christ should come, as over against those who were already dead and could not therefore live till Christ should come.
Certain passages in the epistles of Paul, which are not confined to any one period of his life, seem to show that at any rate he did not exclude the very real possibility that Christ might come in the near future. At any rate, however, such an expectation of the early coming of Christ was just as far removed as possible from the expectations of fanatical chiliasts. It did not lead Paul to forget that the times and the seasons are entirely in the hand of God. It had no appreciable effect upon his ethics, except to make it more intense, more fully governed by the thought of the judgment seat of Christ. It did not prevent him from laying far-reaching plans, it did not prevent his developing a great philosophy of future history in Rom., chs. 9 to 11. How far he was from falling into the error he combated in Second Thessalonians! Despite his view of the temporary character of the things that are seen, how sane and healthy was his way of dealing with practical problems! He did his duty, and left the details of the future to God. Hence it is hard to discover what Paul thought as to how soon Christ would come—naturally so, for Paul did not try to discover it himself.
3. THE PERSONS ASSOCIATED IN THE ADDRESS
Almost always other persons are associated with Paul in the addresses of the epistles. With regard to the meaning of this custom, extreme views should be avoided. On the one hand, these persons—usually, at any rate—had no share in the actual composition of the epistles. The epistles bear the imprint of one striking personality. On the other hand, association in the address means something more than that the persons so named sent greetings; for mere greetings are placed at the end. The truth lies between the two extremes. Probably the persons associated with Paul in the address were made acquainted at least in general with the contents of the epistles, and desired to express their agreement with what was said. In the Thessalonian epistles Silas and Timothy, who had had a part in the founding of the Thessalonian church, appear very appropriately in the address.
A question related to that of the persons associated in the addresses is the question of the so-called "epistolary plural." The epistolary plural was analogous to our "editorial we" it was a usage by which the writer of a letter could substitute "we" for "I" in referring to himself alone. In many passages in the letters of Paul it is exceedingly difficult to tell whether a plural is merely epistolary, or whether it has some special significance. For example, whom, if anyone, is Paul including with himself in the "we" of I Thess. 3:1? In particular, the question often is whether, when Paul says "we," he is thinking of the persons who were associated with him in the address of the epistle. On the whole it seems impossible to deny that Paul sometimes uses the epistolary plural, though his use of it is probably not so extensive as has often been supposed.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 197-203. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (supplemented), article on "Thessalonians, Epistles to the." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Lock, articles on "Thessalonians, First Epistle to the" and "Thessalonians, Second Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 47-57. Ramsay, "Pictures of the Apostolic Church," pp. 240-246. Stalker, "The Life of St. Paul," pp. 85-107. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 125-170: Mason, "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges": Findlay, "The Epistles to the Thessalonians." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 152-164, 203-255. Milligan, "St. Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians." The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.